So...
I am torn between not saying anything, by way of trying to avoid jinxing my chance, and sharing all the details, by way of trying to generate some positive karmic momentum on this thread.
And...
The deciding factor is that, in the aftermath of Bob's set that I missed all but the back-announce, The Drive is playing JT ("Shower the people you love with love..."), followed by 3DN ("Wash away your troubles...").
Thus...
Two Monday's ago I got a call out of the blue from a recruiter in Dallas (months after I'd sent my resume to someone in the SJ branch of the same recruiting company). He described a position very similar to my own, even to the point that the primary focus would be on the account with Cisco. He never said who it was, but over the course of several conversations (necessitated by him making a mistake in his inital notes, thinking I was currently only making $35k & wondering how I could justify such a much higher salary) I learned that they were European-based, which to my mind meant it could only be one company. I checked with my best buddy within the industry, Tony, and he confirmed that as far as he could tell it must be Worldmark; based in Scotland & the largest (& most global) competitor in our business space. Which in turn meant that I currently hold the only other exactly comparable position within any other company on the planet. I have all the contacts within Cisco, understand their corporate culture, can get mutilple letters of rec from Cisco folks, etc. But, by the end of that week this recruiter told me that my candidacy was no longer under consideration. SHIT!!! He seemed really stuck on the question of my making $35k, which was never true in the first place. When I asked him directly, he still wouldn't confirm that it was Worldmark, but his evasion kind of gave it away anyway I thought. After I got back from my Labor Day trip I called my buddy Tony again, and he said he had some contact info for Worldmark's US office in Chicago, and to say that he recommended me. The next day (last Wednesday) I met with my headhunter & she helped me put the finishing touches on a new & improved resume format*, and at the end of the day I sent it to the contact at Worldmark's Chicago office. The following morning just after 9:00 I got a call from the president of Worldmark USA. I had been right. They did need to replace their Cisco director, who was moving up within the organization, and he thought my background was perfect. He was actually glad that the recruiter screwed it up & that I contacted him directly, because it would save him the commision**. After 40 minutes of conversation he said they'd like to fly me out to Chicago as soon as he gets back from his then-up-coming trip to Europe, i.e. next Thursday the 21st. Email on Saturday confirmed his intentions to do this.
My friend Tony says he knows this guy, seems sharp, and that Worldmark is a first class organition to work for in his opinion. And they definitely have a career path for me, it seems the President previously held the postion to which I am applying. Tony said, "Mark, unless you go there and insult them to their faces, I don't see how they wouldn't hire you. You're perfect for this, and it's damn near perfect for you."
This better not jinx it though!
*I would be more than happy to share my hard-won resume expertise with any of the rest of you. Presumably the Dallas recruiter sent my little one-pager to someone, either in his company or in Worldmark & they didn't give it a second thought. But the new & improved two-pager got me a call from the president within hours.
**I immediately flashed on the scene from Pretty Woman, where Vivien goes back to the Rodeo Drive designer gown shop where she'd been snubbed & shows them all the stuff she bought & rubs their noses in the commissions they didn't get - "Big mistake. HUGE!". But I'm not going to do that myself, especially since I haven't gotten anything yet.
